Red Tips
by Shayza100
Summary: Alright so this is just a type it and go story *like everything else I write* It involves my OC, Arcas Kellarov. If you wanna know more about her go on deviantART and search that name and also I will be posting her profile on here soon. ANYWAY Sci-Fi romance between her and Darth Maul. No real storyline yet :)
1. Chapter 1

"Yeah! He was all like zoom! Werrrm! Chaaa!" a young boy was describing his adventure in the desert to a young girl. She was staring at him with wide eyes,

"And Master Qui-Gon defeated him?" she asked.

"Almost! The ship picked us up and we left him in the dust!" the boy answered.

"What'd he look like?" the girl asked.

"I don't know. Qui-Gon ordered me to duck and I ran to the ship. But he had a red lightsaber and was wearing a black hood!" the boy explained to her. She clapped her hands,

"That sounds so exciting! Have you heard anything else?"

"Nah. Qui-Gon has been too focused on getting the Queen back here." The boy answered. He craned his head as he heard Qui-Gon calling his name,

"Hey I gotta go! What's your name? Maybe I can come back and tell you more stories!"

The girl smiled,

"I'm Arcas. What's yours?"

"Anakin. Bye!" the boy said and he turned and ran.

**Years Later**

Arcas watched as her childhood friend Anakin Skywalker strolled the Temple. She glided up to him,

"Hello my friend! How's life for you these days?"

"Arcas! Hello! No, never a boring day with a Padawan like mine!" Anakin laughed, "How goes it for you?"

"Not too bad. I am finally a Jedi Knight!" Arcas smiled. Anakin smiled happily for her,

"Oh ya when'd that happen?"

"A few years ago, but it seems whenever I was here you weren't and vice versa!"

Arcas was about to say something else but then Master Obi Wan hurried up to Anakin.

"Anakin. Where is Master Yoda?" Obi Wan asked.

"Uh… I think in his meditation room. Why Master?" Anakin said, confused.

"Remember that Sith who killed Qui Gon? The one who tried to kill you on Tatooine?" Obi Wan asked. Anakin nodded.

"Well somehow he has survived and now he's back." Obi Wan finished.

Anakin looked stunned,

"How?!"

"I don't know, but Master Yoda will know what to do." Obi Wan looked ahead and attempted to hurry off to find Yoda. Arcas stepped out of his way, she turned to Anakin,

"Is he talking about the same man you told me about all those years ago?"

"The very same."

Arcas crept up to the Council room and listened in…

"Letting this get personal, you are Master Kenobi." She heard Yoda say. Obi Wan hummed and hawed a bit, trying to get the Council to set up a search party to bring in the ruthless Sith assassin. Arcas heard the movement of feet and hid behind a pillar. She came out of hiding when she saw Obi Wan walk out.

"Anakin told me about that man when he first came to the Temple. He sounded very dangerous. What was he like in reality?" she asked.

"Even worse than before. He had that monster that killed the Toydarian king with him. They are a force to be reckoned." Obi Wan murmured. Arcas looked down and bowed to the master.

She then left and hurried to the archives, maybe she could find an image of this Sith. She was very curious about who he was. It had been a rumor throughout her entire childhood that Obi Wan had sliced the Sith in half as an apprentice. It was said that his appearance was like looking into a demon itself and that his behavior was just as bad. But none of the younglings had ever seen a glimpse of what the monster looked like. She slide her hand over the door and it opened. Arcas walked in and up to the librarian,

"Hi. Do you have anything on that Sith that murdered Master Qui Gon?"

"Why would you be interested in that?" the librarian asked.

"I've been assigned a scouting mission and I thought maybe I'd do a little research before heading off to find him. Maybe any history on him might help me find him and report his actions." Arcas lied. The librarian seemed satisfied with that and sent her off in a direction. Arcas bowed and thanked the librarian for her help. She hurried to the section the librarian had suggested and found a small Holocron on him. She found an image of his face and gasped. He was something to look at. She was amazed at his tattoos. She noticed something about him though. She looked closer and saw he had protruding horns. She ran her fingers over her face and felt hers. He was the male opposite of her!

"He's a Zabrak…" she whispered to herself. There had never been many of them in the Jedi Temple because of the anger they had, but when the Jedi were desperate they acquired Zabrak force sensitive children. Zabraks were known for their ruggedness and hardiness in battle, but they had a lot of darkness due to Sith visitation long ago on their home planet, Iridonia. The Jedi saw darkness in every Zabrak that was seen throughout the galaxy. Arcas herself had been lucky to train as a Jedi…

She shook herself out of her thoughts and returned to her "scouting" research. She saw he had not been very well known until recently. His log of criminal activities was astoundingly long. She saw the name Opress in there very often, 'That must be the murderer of the Toydarian king'. She kept scrolling through until she saw a list of his recent sightings. His most recent one had been at the home base of the Black Sun organization. She closed the Holocron and hurried out of the library. The Zabrak Sith had intrigued her, he had evoked something in her that seemed to have been dormant. She desperately wanted to see who he was in person. Arcas hurried to her chambers and paced back and forth thinking.

"How can I spy on him? How can I spy on him?" she kept repeating herself. She decided her only choice was to travel to the Black Sun base herself. Arcas packed up a few of her belongings in a bag and hurried to the lower levels of the Temple.

She was about to enter the hangar when her friend, Kellina ran up to her.

"Arcas! Where are you off to?" Kellina asked.

"I've been assigned a scouting mission." Arcas said, using the same lie.

"Ooh! Who are you scouting out?!" Kellina asked excitedly.

"I don't know. I didn't get a name. Just his location. They said I'll know who he is by the vibe he gives off." Arcas said, "I'm sorry Kell, but I've really gotta go!"

She hurried off and jumped in a ship. She set her coordinates to the base.


	2. Chapter 2

Arcas went over her plan in her head a million times. She had to make sure that no one saw her or knew of her allegiance to the Jedi. The Black Sun crew was not a very friendly group. Her monitor beeped to alert her that she was within range of the base. She breathed in deeply and let out slowly, calming her nerves.

She landed quietly on a cliff over looking the landing platform. She saw a Mandalorian ship with Death Watch markings all over it, 'Good they're still here' she thought. She was about to jump off the cliff over the lava when a hand grabbed her elbow. Arcas gasped as the hand pulled her back,

"Are you the extra we called for?" a female Zabrak with a thick accent asked her.

Arcas eyes darted quickly as she saw that the female's friends were closing in,

"Uh yes! I was just about to come look for you! They told me you'd find me, but I thought I'd do a little recon."

The female seemed satisfied with that,

"Good. I am Sugi. Good thing you just got here! The last Hutt just got here as well. Follow my lead and don't get yourself killed."

Sugi led them away from the cliff and down a steep incline. There was a secret passage that led to the meeting room. Sugi pointed to the long rounded table and crouched under it. Arcas quickly copied her and stayed alert for any other order Sugi gave. Her heart leapt into her throat as she heard the footsteps of the Sith, his accomplice, and Pre-Vizsla stepped into the room. She felt the disappoint rolling off the Sith in huge waves.

The Sith tried to frighten the Hutts into giving them their resources. One of the Hutts spoke something in Huttese and Sugi sprang up with her gun pointed at the red Sith. Arcas copied her almost instantly and went into a martial arts stance, careful to hide her lightsaber. She looked at the two Zabraks in front of her and was astonished by how powerful each of them looked. Her eyes met with the red Sith's and she faltered a little in her stance, but regained her posture quickly. Sugi shot the first blast and the rest of her gang pushed the criminals out. Vizsla blasted fire out of his wrist, trying to burn them all. Arcas leapt above the fire and joined in the fight. She was jumped by a few Death Watch. They swung punches at her and she evaded them. She quietly used the Force to blast them away and knocked a few in the gut. She turned to face more as they came on, the fight seemed to last forever, but despite all the violence Arcas enjoyed the opportunity to get some energy out.

The bigger Zabrak punched a wall in an attempt to hit one of Sugi's crew. The vibration was so hard it loosened a piece of rock from the ceiling. It fell on top of Arcas. Arcas gasped as she felt the weight smash on her legs. She turned to use the Force to push it off, but was hit by a stun gun.

"Leave them. They are only bounty hunters." The Sith said. He walked over to where Arcas was pinned,

"What have we here?"

He looked at Arcas with curiosity. He was stroking his chin when a Death Watch warrior hurried up to him,

"All of the Hutts but one managed to escape."

The Sith stopped stroking his chin and looked at the warrior,

"Keep her here. Any way you can."

The warrior nodded and pulled a blaster out holding it to her head. Arcas heard the scream of the Hutt before being hit unconscious.

Arcas woke up later inside a ship. She was strapped to a chair by energy bonds. She shook her hair so it covered her face. Arcas looked around hoping to find an escape. Her head was pulled back and she was staring into the mask of a Death Watch warrior.

"So you've awakened. I'll let Pre Vizsla know." The Death Watch warrior left into the cabin of the ship. Arcas quickly looked around, desperate for an escape now that she was most definitely outside her skill level. She shifted her hip, looking for the feel of her lightsaber and squeaked when she felt it wasn't there. She started to panic. Her panic heightened when she heard voices,

"… Let me deal with her!"

"No! You are not affiliated with the Jedi. She is in Savage and I's expertise!"

Arcas watched the door, hoping she would wake up soon and this was a bad dream. To her dismay the door opened and revealed the two Zabrak Sith. The red one motioned for the door to shut and with a look of anger Pre Vizsla shut the door.

The two Sith paced back and forth. Arcas lowered her head, trying not to make eye contact with them. The bigger Zabrak stormed up to her and pulled her head up, staring at her with angry eyes,

"What should we do with her brother?"

The red one paced back and forth,

"She could be of use to us Savage… We just have to figure out how…"

Arcas stayed quiet, trying her hardest not to show her panic. The red zabrak pulled the one named Savage back,

"Your quiet demeanor does not deceive the panic in your eyes JEDI."

Arcas couldn't help it,

"You know the Council will come for me! They'll find me!"

"Yes… Yes they will because we will force them too… Savage I think I've figured how she'll be useful… Come let us go inform Vizsla…"

They left and Arcas was left alone in the holding area. The door opened and a Death Watch warrior came out to babysit her,

"Don't try anything." The warrior knocked her gun against Arcas head. She grunted a little,

"Like as though I could."

The ride back to Mandalore took a few hours. In that time Arcas had let herself drift between consciousness and unconsciousness, trying to make a Force connection with anyone back on Coruscant she could. But she was hit with a stone wall each time. She was hit awake,

"Wake up Jedi! We've arrived at Mandalore."

"Great. Thanks for telling me." Arcas muttered.

"Fiesty isn't she?" the red Sith appeared.

"Lord Maul. I was just informing her that we've arrived within range of Mandalore and should be landing sometime soon." The warrior said quickly.

"Leave her "escortment" to Savage and I. We will be able to deal with any fight she puts up." Maul commanded. The warrior piped a bit,

"We will be able to deal with her just fine as well. She would not be the first Jedi we've dealt with."

"Of course… That Jedi, Kenobi. Except where is he now?" Maul snided.

The warrior quit her conquest on escorting Arcas to where ever they wanted to take her. Arcas had to laugh a bit at how easily Maul disarmed her. Arcas shut her mouth… She was admiring the monster… 'God what has happened to me? Am I already so despaired that I believe I'm not going to be rescued…' she thought to herself.

The ship landed and Arcas lifted her head up looking around. Maul deactivated the energy bond around her waist and pulled her up. Arcas bowed her head, letting her hair cover her face. Savage pulled her face back,

"Stop covering your fear Jedi. Aren't the Jedi fearless?" Maul sneered at her face. Arcas straightened her shoulders and shook her hair back to reveal her full appearance. Her vestigal horns protruded proudly and her hair wrapped around her face, and her pale blue eyes shone.

"Ah now that's more like it. There's a face of a Jedi worthy of fighting me." Maul laughed. He motioned for Savage and her to follow him. Savage pinned a hand around her arm and pushed her forward. Arcas kept up her bravery and tried to observe which ways she was going in case she did end up escaping from here. They came to a building of glass and glow. 'This can't be the jail… It's too pretty…' Arcas thought to herself.

Nevertheless she was thrown into a jail cell. She got up quickly from her knees and stared out from the glass wall.

"You can't just leave me here! What's going to happen to me?!" she shouted out, "This planet will be stormed! The Jedi will come looking for me!"

Maul laughed haughtily,

"Yes.. your friends will come for you…"

Arcas was left alone. No cell mates to converse with.

"Might as well make this the best I can…" She sat on the floor and relaxed herself, looking to reach her mind of peace and serenity. Arcas felt herself become one with the Force, but she still felt no connection with anyone back at the Temple. She slammed her hand on the floor, pulling herself out of her meditation.

"Why isn't this working?!" she shouted. 'Maybe the Dark Woman didn't teach it to me right… makes sense seeing as she's a reclusive Jedi…" Arcas thought to herself. Arcas closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep, dreaming of colors…

The days dragged by slowly for Arcas. The only contact she had was when food was brought to her to keep her alive. She had debated starving herself so that she could get out of this hell, but she convinced herself to stay alive for the sake of reporting back to the Jedi. Finally after 3 or 4 days of being held captive, the red Zabrak, Maul came for her. She lifted her head from her lap and looked up to see him standing outside the cell. Arcas raised her hand, trying to use the Force to break the glass between them so she could strangle him and get a chance of escape. Maul laughed,

"Your fear prevents you from using your power."

"I have no fear!" Arcas lied.

"Like I'd believe that. Now come. I've got a transmission with the Jedi with your name on it." Maul instructed. Arcas waited for him to open the door. When he did he grabbed her by the throat,

"Don't you dare try to escape. I have this place surrounded with Death Watch warriors."

Arcas could only gasp for air. Maul took that as a yes and let her go. He followed behind her and led her to the communications room. He handed her off to Savage who paced back and forth watching her carefully.

Arcas watched Maul tap a few keys and then a figure showed in the screen. Arcas squeaked when she saw it was Master Windu and Master Yoda. She bowed her head hiding her face a bit so the masters wouldn't see her.

"Ah Jedi Masters. I believe I have someone of yours…" Maul taunted them. Windu crossed his arms,

"Who would that be?"

"You'll have to send a Master to come get her yourself…" Maul continued taunting.

Yoda stepped forward into the conversation,

"Jedi Knight, Arcas Kellarov is it?"

Maul laughed,

"How should I know? I never got her name." he leapt over to where Arcas was being watched and pulled her forward. He pulled her hair back violently,

"You have 3 days to send Kenobi for her before I kill her myself and send her mutilated remains to you as a reminder to Kenobi that I have not forgotten."

With that Maul cut the transmission to the Jedi Temple,

"Well I think we've established a point to the Jedi."

Savage only growled in agreement. Arcas was scared to the ends of her hair. She had 3 days to escape out of a prison that seemed to have no escape.

Maul felt her fear rolling off her,

"So you do have fear… Do not worry little one, I'm sure your precious Jedi will send a squadron for you with Kenobi in lead."

"You have an obsession with Master Kenobi as a girl does for a boy." Arcas retorted, "It makes you seem crazier than you already are."

Maul could only laugh,

"When you have been waiting for revenge…"

He pushed her back towards her jail cell and threw her inside it. He locked the door and turned to leave. Arcas let herself drop to the ground and she splayed her body out. She prayed through the Force that the Council would send someone, anyone to come rescue her. 'They aren't just going to leave me…' she kept telling herself over and over. She didn't know how to live without the Jedi.  
"I could always a hitch a ride back to Iridonia." She said to herself, then she remembered how her family had done nothing to protect her from her kidnapping. She closed her eyes and tried to telepathically speak to any Jedi she could make contact with. She was still being hit with a mental wall of stone.

"God damn it!" she shouted and slammed her fists onto the ground. The walls shattered onto the ground from the energy of force she emitted. Arcas quickly got up from the floor and grabbed the biggest shard she could, in case she needed it in her possible escape now.

She ran out of her cell and tried to remember her way out. She sensed footsteps from the guards coming to see what the noise was. Arcas looked around, looking for a way to avoid them,

"Damn! No doors!"

She looked up and saw an air vent. She pulled it down using the Force and jumped up inside it. She pulled the hatch up just in time to escape from the guards. She crept forward and away just in time to hear a guard report the broken cell. Arcas focused her senses on finding a way out. She used her mind to find an energy path to civilization, 'Where are you society?' she thought to herself. Arcas felt something and followed it. She crawled around the air shafts being careful not to make too much noise. She found she had arrived above the hangar. She stopped and looked through the slits at the hangar area. 'I'll wait until night when all the pilots are gone' she thought to herself. Arcas watched carefully as people left and arrived. The Mandalore Royal Hangar was quite busy seeing as usually it appeared to be quiet and reclusive.

Her heart dropped when she saw Maul appear in the hangar with Vizsla with him. She crossed her fingers he would leave before she made her escape. She saw Maul look around and watching every ship that came and left. He seemed to be talking to Vizsla at the same time. Arcas tried to listen in on the conversation, but she was too busy. She continued to observe, keeping a careful eye on Maul's movements.

When time for her escape came, Maul was still present in the hangar recording every passenger and pilot that came and left Mandalore's palace. Arcas stammered for a few seconds wondering what to do. She couldn't face him. She didn't have the power she needed without her lightsaber to even stand a chance against him. While she was still thinking her hiding spot was ripped apart.

"I thought I sensed your presence. It took me a while to find it's exact location." Maul sneered, walking towards her using the Force to pull her out of the air shaft. Arcas gasped for air, her vision flickering between light and darkness.

"I'll escape… here… somehow…" she gasped out. She pulled the shard out and slammed it into her midsection. She felt the pain scream into her brain, her hearts beating rapidly at the panic spreading through her. She relaxed as she felt her blood pump out and the world go black… she didn't even feel her body hit the ground as Maul dropped her.

Maul ran towards her body. He had never in his all his missions see a Jedi attempt to take their life like she had. She was surprising him every time they met. He pulled his comlink up,

"Medic to the Hangar. Hostage is injured." He reported. While he waited he pulled the shard out and put a hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. He pushed down, applying pressure. He used his other hand to check if she still had a pulse. He felt it beating weakly in her wrist.

"Don't you die on me yet!" he exclaimed.

He kept checking for a pulse until the medical droid came. The droid gave her a sedative and used it's many hands to apply pressure to her wound, put a breathing mask on her face to keep her breathing and lifted her up. The droid wheeled out to the infirmary section of the palace. Maul got up from his knees and stared at his hand. He saw her blood drip off his fingertips and something within him flipped…


	3. Chapter 3

Arcas woke up to a beep. She fluttered her eyes opened. 'Oh dear galaxy…' she had survived… The beeping got more and more rapid as her pulse went up due to the adrenaline of anger she was feeling. A hand pushed down on her arm and she felt a needle pierce her skin. Almost immediately she became dozy,

"What… Who…?" she mumbled. She looked over to where the hand belonged and was astonished to see it was Maul's.

"I'm assuming you really don't like being a prisoner?" he asked. He was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

'God he looks amazing...' she thought. She shook her head slightly and remained silent to his question.

"Fine. Well either way you've got 2 more days to wait for the Jedi's answers, but now that I know what your willing to do to escape I've given the order to keep you here sedated and weak." Maul told her. With that he gave her another sedative and watched as she fought the anesthetic but ultimately passed out.

Maul turned and walked out of the room. Savage was waiting for him, as backup in case the girl had tried to escape again.

"Does she need any more restraints brother?" Savage asked.

"No she should be fine until we have the Jedi's answer. She is an odd one though. Never in history has a Jedi tried to take their own life to remain free." Maul mused. Savage shrugged his shoulders,

"At least she did not escape and ruin our chances of ridding the Jedi one of their most valuable members."

"True Savage, true. But if we do end up with her, she is something. It would be a shame to have to kill her instead of using her for a spy or some sorts. She has much anger and she leaves a trail of it everywhere she goes." Maul said quietly. He lifted his head from his hand and walked away from the infirmary.

He was curious as to what the Jedi would say about this Jedi Knight. She was obviously not a valued member of their's as Savage thought. 'Just another pawn, what a shame' he thought to himself. He headed for the council room of the Palace, he wanted to speak to Pre-Vizsla.

"Savage go do a boundary check. Vizsla likes to keep spectators away from here. Also there has been rumors of Jabba sending bounty here to invade us. If you find any… have fun." He waved and sent Savage away. Savage practically ran, he was itching to release his energy. Maul kept walking to the council room. He heard Vizsla talking to the Black Sun organization about sending more members for backup. Maul leaned against the doorway, patiently waiting for his meeting to end.

Eventually it did and Maul got his chance after the room cleared out.

"Vizla. I'd like to talk to you about the arrangements of our prisoner from the base." Maul stated.

"The Zabrak girl?" Vizsla asked.

"Yes. She escaped yesterday as you know and I sensed her in the hangar and waited for her to let her guard down so I could capture her. Anyway she impaled herself with a piece of glass from her cell and she's been in the infirmary since. My point is we should keep her on sedatives until we have an answer from the Jedi. She is powerful when she is aggravated and keeping her in a prison cell enhances that. But more importantly it that it is obvious she is not that much of importance to the Jedi so if they do indeed turn our "offer" down we need to discuss options of keeping her alive for something. She's too powerful to let be killed." Maul explained. Vizsla looked up from the Holoforms he had been staring at,

"Let us wait until we have answer from the Jedi. For now I'll take your advice and keep her under."

Maul seemed satisfied with that answer. He tried to put her out of his mind and work on the next few steps of his grand plan to have power. Perhaps she could help him with it… She could be his informative spy. He could send her to places his face wouldn't allow him too… He just had to make sure she was able to turn to the dark and away from the light…

Maul went back to the infirmary to assess her mind. Now that she was under the influence of drugs her mind was weaker and easier to search through. He waved his hand over the door and saw her sleeping form. Her chest heaved up and down calmly. Her eyes did not stir from his presence. 'Good she's still under' he thought to himself. He picked up her hand to strengthen his connection into her mind and he searched through for her willpower. He saw so many memories. He saw when she had first heard of who he was and how she had quivered with excitement at ever getting a chance to defeat him in battle.

"You'll never beat me in a duel little one." He whispered, looking at her sleeping form. He closed his eyes again and concentrated. He found the remembrance of when she first wielded a lightsaber. He found how she had covered her enjoyment of killing an assassin. He went even as far back to when she was a child and how she had been abducted by slavers, her pain as her parents just let her go.

"You have a dark past and yet here you are wielding the light. You must have a strong resilience." He murmured.

Maul found her willpower and tested it. He was surprised how hard she pushed against his attempts to insert even a small sliver of darkness within her. Her hand twitched, Maul quickly looked down and let go.

"Stop… messing with my mind…" she murmured before losing consciousness again. Maul had to laugh, she was surprising him all the time with how she reacted to his actions.

Maul left her and walked to the communications room, he checked in with Savage,

"Anything to report my brother?"

"Not much going on outside here brother. I did have to… end a couple of the Royal Guards. They thought they were being careful sneaking warning beacons off to whoever got them. I ended the guards and switched the beacon back to all clear." Savage cackled through.

"For once I have taught you something useful. Good job Savage. Come back once you feel you are finished." Maul said. He signed off the comlink and checked back through the transmission to the Jedi. They had sent no reply yet. Maul exhaled deeply. He was extremely aggravated about what would happen if the Jedi did not send Kenobi. He would have lost yet another opportunity to have his revenge. But yet he somehow did not want to give up the girl. Maul retreated to his quarters and spun his saber in a circle to entertain himself.

After about 30 minutes alone, Savage appeared.

"Have anymore fun?" Maul asked.

"No." Savage responded, curtly. Maul shrugged his shoulders, his brother had good and bad days.

"If the Jedi respond to the threat and do indeed send Kenobi, leave him to me and you take out anyone he brings with him. Let it be like it was on Florrum, except this time neither of us lose a limb." Maul explained.

"It's nice to see you care brother." Savage replied sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to keep you alive." Maul said shortly. Maul ordered Savage to his own living quarters so he could get some rest before the evening dinner. Maul walked into his refresher and washed his face to wake himself up a bit. He took his robe off to be more comfortable and meditated a bit before hearing the slight clang of silverware hitting the dining hall tables. He pushed off the floor and robed himself off. Maul quietly made his way to the dining hall. Food had never been a huge concern of his, but Savage never missed a meal. Maul walked in and saw all the warriors eating like the pigs they were, he quickly helped himself to two small fish and plopped a large amount of soup into a bowl. He couldn't stand to eat with these filths anymore so had been taking his meals to his room, but tonight he went to the infirmary. Arcas as they had called her was still asleep on the bed. He left the soup next her bed and turned to the medical droid,

"Next she awakens inform her there is food here for her."

"Affirmative sir." The droid croaked out. Maul left and ate his meal in silence away from the disgusting warriors and away from her…


	4. Chapter 4

The next afternoon Maul was discussing his next move for his grand plan with Pre Vizsla. 'Except the bloody fool doesn't have the slightest idea that I'm going overpower him' Maul thought to himself.

"We need to keep the citizens believing that the Duchess is indeed a traitor. But we could also help you take control of Mandalore." Maul told him. Vizsla rubbed his chin,

"And how could you do that?"

"We could play a deploy. You could show to the citizens that you have taken Savage and I as prisoners and claim us responsible for all the attacks and frauds against Mandalore. This would win you their respect and loyalty." Maul explained.

"Sounds like an excellent plan. When shall we execute it?" Vizsla asked.

"After we have a response back from the Jedi on our prisoner's fate." Maul said. Vizsla nodded and left to explain the plan to his warriors.

Savage came into the council room.

"Brother are you really going to allow us to pretend to be taken prisoner?" he asked, "What if he throws us into the jail?"

Maul smiled,

"I'm counting on it. Once we're down there we can find a diplomat who is a traitor to Mandalore and use him as our puppet to control Mandalore." Savage could only examine his saber hilt in embarrassment. Maul rolled his eyes affectionately,

"You still have much to learn brother."

Maul walked along with Savage following him,

"We need to figure a plan to convince our soon-to-be puppet to be a false ruler of Mandalore under our thumb."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Savage responded, his hand hovering over his lightsaber hilt. Maul rolled his eyes,

"Savage go down to the detention center and look around. Make a list of potential candidates for us. I will make the final decision on who we choose."

Savage growled and left.

Maul left down to go to the communications room to check for a response from the Jedi. He had a private transmission from an unknown link. 'Curious…' he thought. He opened it up and the face he saw was masked and covered. The voice he heard was female.

"I wouldn't count on the Jedi coming to rescue that Knight. I have heard them talking and they have been arguing over her use to the Jedi. She has too much darkness in her to be kept as a Knight…"

And just like that the transmission was over. Maul was not sure of the legitimacy of the message as the identity of the person and origin was not disclosed. He squared his shoulders, 'They still have a day to debate and decide' he thought to himself. Maul spun around as he heard a voice. He turned and saw it was a Death Watch warrior,

"Pre Vizsla requests to see you."

"As usual." Maul growled. He followed the warrior into the throne room.

Vizsla turned from discussing something,

"Ah Maul. Just who I wanted to see."

Maul cut him off,

"You requested me. It is not as if you were hoping to see me. What is it you want?"

Vizsla's face turned to a stormed look,

"My men found your animal brother searching the detention center. We are not sure why but it is a curious and odd activity to be doing."

"He was probably looking to see if he could find any prisoners awaiting execution and he would serve it himself. Mandalore is a bit of a bore place for him to be. No animals to hunt down and kill and no way for him to relieve his boredom." Maul covered, 'Damn it Savage. Can't you be discreet?' he thought.

Vizsla seemed a little hesistant with Maul's answer,

"Why does he not train with my men?"

"Savage could best your men in a few seconds flat. He took a Jedi down within seconds just with hand to hand combat. Not to mention he is trained to kill and that is exactly what he will do. No his training is best left to my attention." Maul said. Vizsla had no choice but to accept Maul's answer.

Maul bowed and left the room. He searched throughout the palace for Savage. Finally he gave up and retreated to his quarters. There he found his brother waiting for him.

"Damn you Savage. You almost blew the whole plan to pieces." Maul scolded him.

Savage rolled his eyes,

"I found a few people who would be willing to trade power just for their freedom."

Maul was delighted to hear this,

"Excellent!"

"So what exactly did I do wrong this time?"

Maul became irritated at him again,

"Vizsla's men found you and were curious as to why you were searching the detention center."

"Ah I did run into them. I didn't say anything." Savage said simply.

Maul growled,

"I told them you were bored here on Mandalore and was looking to execute any prisoners who were awaiting execution."

Savage stood up,

"As fun as that sounds how dare you make me sound like an animal."

Maul stood up straight. He could feel his temper about to blow. He turned and left. He wasn't even thinking. He was just walking to let his anger out. When he finally came to his senses Maul found himself standing outside the Jedi's room.

"Bloody hell…" he growled to himself. He stood outside and leaned against the glass, staring at her chest rise and fall. He watched as her eyes fluttered a bit and her hands twitched. He walked into the room and disconnected her from the IV full of the sedative drugs.

He watched as she slowly woke, the machine beeped quickly as her heartbeat as she became more conscious. The girl slowly opened her eyes. Maul was shocked by them. He had forgotten that despite them being pale, they were quite blue. She jerked up suddenly,

"Where am I?!"

Maul outstretched a hand,

"Careful now. You are in the same place you were 3 days ago."

Arcas shook her head, Maul watched her hair shake,

"3 days… 3 days… Oh no…"

Maul smiled in glee as he watched and felt her panic rise,

"They're not coming to rescue me… Are they?!" Arcas cried. She pulled her hands to he face and wept into them. Maul felt a bit awkward and a bit amused. He had seen women cry because someone (or himself) had killed a loved one, but that was the only time he had ever seen them cry. It was odd for him now to watch her cry, he wasn't sure what to do.

He left to let her adjust to the Jedi betraying her. He practically skipped in joy at his new accomplice. He would turn her to the dark side and use her as his spy. Maul went to look for Savage to tell him about their newest addition to the grand plan. He found Savage levitating his lightsaber in the dining hall.

"Savage! The girl. She is ours for the taking." Maul explained excitedly. Savage's concentration broke and the hilt fell with a clang,

"What?"

"That Jedi we captured. The Temple is not going to send a squadron for her it appears. They have not responded to my transmission. I did get a private link the other day from the Temple, but the person was masked and the origin was unknown. For now we should keep an eye out for a raid against the palace for her release. Otherwise she is to be our newest addition to the plan of taking over Mandalore." Maul told him. Savage smiled at the idea, finally someone else for Maul to take his anger out on,

"Sounds brilliant brother."

Maul left to find Pre Vizsla. He wasn't far,

"Vizsla."

Vizsla turned to Maul,

"Yes what is it?"

"It seems our prisoner is not going to be rescued by her beloved Jedi. So your plan to take over Mandalore can take action at your leisure." Maul said simply.

Vizsla nodded,

"Tomorrow then."

Maul bowed and left. He knew Vizsla was going to betray him and try to keep Savage and him in the detention cell. 'It'll take a lot more than a jail cell to keep us contained' Maul thought with an inward smile. He strolled throughout the palace taking in what he had to do tomorrow and preparing himself for the candidates Savage had found. He went to his quarters and prepared himself for the events of the next few days…


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Maul was training Savage in the Palace's gardens when the DeathWatch warriors came to round them up for the big show.

"How rude of Vizsla to interrupt my teachings." Maul growled.

"Ya well get moving. His lord is getting impatient to get this rolling. He's pissed off you already made him wait 3 days than needed." One of the warriors retorted. Maul stopped in his tracks,

"Your "lord" wouldn't be where he is without my help. So he can shut his mouth about waiting when I have so generously given my advice."

No one talked for the rest of the trip to the public balcony. Vizsla had already gathered the public and was explaining how the Duchess had hired people to throw attacks on Mandalore and blame it on DeathWatch.

"The culprits have been caught though! But only due to DeathWatch's devotion to keeping Mandalore safe and strong!" Vizsla shouted. He made a gesture for Maul and Savage to be brought out.

Maul felt the energy bonds click around his wrists. He saw Savage fidget a little at the odd feeling. Maul went limp and allowed himself to be pushed out onto the balcony like an animal. He was pushed over the railing with his head hanging. He looked out at the people and saw the look of fear cascade across at his demonic appearance. He roared loudly to give effect. Savage only growled. Vizsla pulled both their sabers from their belts,

"Jedi! Just as we suspected! But now! Now that the Duchess has been put away and her henchmen captured Mandalore can return to it's great warrior roots and flourish!"

Maul was roughly pulled from the balcony and he heard the clapping of the stupid citizens. 'Soon this will all be mine…' he thought. He followed the guards to the detention center and noticed that they had not taken the energy bonds off or returned their sabers. 'Just as I thought.'

The brothers were thrown into a jail cell that was in the farthest corner possible from the palace. Maul grunted a little from the impact onto the floor. One of the guards laughed,

"Did you really expect loyalty from Vizsla?"

Maul's eyes burned brightly but he did not say a word. The guards left laughing, feeling victorious. Savage turned to his brother,

"What do we do now?"

"Now we wait a few hours to give Vizsla the impression he's won. Then we make our escape, find our puppet and begin with taking Mandalore out from Vizsla." Maul answered.

"So where does the Jedi come into play with that?" Savage asked.

"She will accompany us in the downfall of Vizsla. I will send her in to scout what we are up against and then I will battle Vizsla myself and win. Once I do I will begin her training more thoroughly. You are mostly finished with yours. If you keep at the pace you are you will soon be complete." Maul explained. Maul sat onto the floor in a meditative position. He closed his eyes and focused on clearing his mind.

Arcas had been weeping all night, but deep down she had known they wouldn't send a platoon in for her.

"Damn you judging Jedi." She whispered. She ripped the IV from her arm. She pulled her feet off the medical bed. Arcas attempted to stand and felt a small pain in her stomach. 'Guess that hasn't exactly healed completely yet.' She didn't care. Arcas looked in the mirrior and threw her hair up into messy bun. 'I'm getting out of here. I'll start a new life somewhere far from all this bullshit' she thought. She just had to figure out where her lightsaber was and then find a ship to steal. Arcas walked out of the medical room. She was surprised to find it so far away from the rest of the palace. She shrugged her shoulders and continued crepting around looking for the red skinned Zabrak. She looked around a corner and swung back when she saw two DeathWatch warriors standing. She breathed out slowly… she thought about taking them out, she knew she could do it. 'But they might have a constant signal on them to alert their leader of their positions at all times… just like dogs' she thought. She decided to use her womanly charm to get her answers. She strode out from behind the wall.

"You!" the warriors pulled their weapons out.

"Don't bother boys. I'm defenseless." She said.

They looked at each other and put their guns down, but kept a hand on the handle.

"Aren't there orders to keep you sedated?" one of them asked.

"I didn't know there was!" Arcas laughed, "But the red skinned Zabrak lightened up the dosage! What a jerk I was having fabulous dreams too."

"Oh. Well you don't have to worry about him interrupting your dreams anymore. We just threw him in jail." The guard responded.

Arcas stepped up close to him,

"Would you like to interrupt my dreams instead?" she purred.

Underneath the hood Arcas couldn't tell what his expression, but from his body language she could tell she had his attention.

"Uhh…" Arcas flipped her hair and ran a hand across his helmet,

"Get back to me on that later handsome." She turned to the other guard,

"Now you…" she purred, "I'll reward you if you do a teeny little favor for me."

She heard him gulp, "What's that?"

"Well you see," she dipped her head, "I've been abandoned by the Jedi…" She closed her eyes and opened them again, her pale blue eyes on fire,  
"And I'm feeling vengeful. So would you both be so kind as to escort a hurting girl to you leader so I can spill all of the Jedi's little secrets to him?"

And just like that the two guards led her straight to Vizsla's throne room.

In the throne room Vizsla was surprised to see her, especially since he had forgotten she existed.

"Why aren't you in the infirmary where that wretched Maul confined you?" he boomed.

Arcas looked up mournfully,

"He is wretched isn't he?"

She turned her look to something devilish,

"But I've got a proposition for you."

"What could you offer me that I would possibly be interested in?" he said, sounding bored.

"Don't you remember I'm from the Jedi Temple? I was a Jedi." She said, sounding hurt.

"And what are you now?" Vizsla asked.

"Just a girl out for revenge. But… I can do that AND help you at the same time." Arcas said, looking at her nails while doing so.

Vizsla leaned forward.

"See.. I know the Temple's structure inside and out. I can tell you the weakest spots to hit it. Blowing the Temple up would be a big hit to the Jedi. I can also tell you where the Jedi library is so you could steal information. Interested now? I could even lure Kenobi here. I may have been abandoned, but Kenobi is a man who honors friendship." Arcas finished. She could see the potential in Vizsla's eyes.

"Fine. I'll grant you asylum here as long as you keep up your end of the deal." Vizsla said.

Arcas smiled,

"Thank you. One more favor."

Vizsla rolled his eyes,

"What?"

"Take me to Maul so I can assess a few things from him." Arcas asked.

Vizsla snapped his fingers and a guard came forward.

"Take her to the detention center." Arcas followed the guard and shot Vizsla a flirty look. 'Damn this is too easy. These guys will eat up any bullshit to get closer to the enemy' she thought.

The guard walked to the farthest end of the palace and to the farthest cell,

"Wow Vizsla really did not like these guys huh?" She laughed.

"Not at all." The guard chuckled back, "Well here they are."

Arcas turned to him and held his hand softly,

"Thank you. I can find my way back." She looked into the helmet where she thought his eyes would be. The guard stumbled back a bit and left. Arcas turned back to the cell.

Savage was leaning against the back wall with his arms folded and Maul was sitting on the floor, meditating.  
"Nice act. Is any of it real?" He asked curious.

"What can I say? I guess they just fall for these pretty eyes. Of course none of it is real! Get your head out of your ass. I'm here for something else." Arcas snapped.

Maul stood up,

"And what would that be?"

"My lightsaber. I know you know where it is. I want it back." Arcas growled.

Maul laughed,

"Oh you have much to learn. Why would you want it back? You have no where to go!"

Arcas contemplated this,

"You're right, I don't but if I'm going to survive in this galaxy I need a weapon and what better than one custom for me?"

Maul growled,

"If you pledge yourself to me I'll give you a purpose in life and a place to stay."

Arcas thought on this,

"What's in it for me?"

"Power and growth. I'll teach you powers you never knew you had. I'll show you things the Jedi could never show you." Maul purred. Arcas was tempted.

"Sure. I'll pledge my allegiance to you. Once you teach me though, I want to show myself off to the Jedi. Show them what I've become because of their missed opportunities." Arcas growled. Maul smiled,

"Perfect. You're first test is breaking Savage and I out of here."

Arcas ducked her face and smiled. She brought her hands up and focused her mind on the cracking sound of the glass. She focused on the glass walls shattering to the ground. She squeezed her hands together and heard the glass crack. Arcas opened her eyes and swung her leg around to the glass and watched as it shattered from the force of her boot.

"You're welcome." She smiled. Maul returned the smile. Savage just rolled his eyes. Maul stepped out.

"Follow me. I'll show you to your lightsaber. What's your position with Vizsla?" Maul asked.

Arcas laughed harshly,

"He believes I know Jedi secrets and that I'll help him plan a bombing attack on the Jedi."

"Who's idea was the bombing?" Maul asked curious, from what he had seen Vizsla did not seem like the type to leave Mandalore's star system.

Arcas looked forward,

"Mine."

"Feeling vengeful are we?" Maul asked.

"Isn't that hardwired in us Zabraks?" Arcas asked. Maul laughed slightly, he had forgotten she was of the same species like him and Savage.

They crept around the palace until they came upon Maul's quarters. Thankfully the doors hadn't been locked yet. Maul ushered them inside quickly. Maul walked over the desk and pulled a drawer open.

"Here my dear is your lightsaber. Now Savage and I are going to stay hidden back down in the detention center to choose to a former political figure to be our puppet. Here's a comlink," he threw her a wrist comlink, "Our private channel is Z27. Keep it on that channel. I want you to stay within sight of Vizsla and scout out how many guards we have to go through once we have chosen. I will personally end Vizsla and take over Mandalore. Understand?" Maul explained.

Arcas flashed a smile,

"Understood." She flipped her hair and walked out of the apartment. She headed back to the throne room.

Savage looked over at his brother,

"What are you thinking brother?"

"I am thinking we have got ourselves a very capable spy. She's played the guards and Vizsla into her hands quite easily." Maul said rubbing his chin. He was excited for what was to come with their new spy.

Maul and Savage streaked back down to the detention center as quickly as they had come back to the palace. Maul let Savage lead and show him all the prisoners he thought fit. Maul listened to all of them and felt their senses, detecting if they were dark enough. One man had caught his attention. The man was tall, with strong features. But his eyes were deceptive. They looked gentle and trusting, but Maul saw straight past that.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Almec." The man asked.

"What brought you down here?" Maul pushed.

"I ran the black market here on Mandalore and was Duchess Satine's advisor. Too bad her nephew caught me." Almec said.

"I understand you're willing to be my little puppet just to have your freedom." Maul said with a cocked smile.

"I am."

"I like you." Maul said. He pressed his hand to the glass and it shattered instantly.

"Welcome. Serve me well and I will bring you great power and all the freedom you could want." Maul said. Almec smiled, his eyes squinting. Maul tapped his wristlink,

"Jedi."

Arcas heard her comlink beep faintly. She looked around to make sure no one heard. No one had. She turned to Vizsla.

"Where's your ladies room?" she asked.

Vizsla pointed in a random direction. She huffed,

"Thanks for the help."

She left quickly.

"Thank god you're done. I've endured countless guards hitting on me and Vizsla's endless questions. If you want this to be easy do it now. Not many guards are around. ARCAS out." She said hotly.

Maul's blood heated at how she talked to him. 'No worries' he thought. He turned to his brother,

"Good selection. I knew I could count on you for this. Follow me." He beginning quickly making his way back up to the palace. He did not even try to be stealthy. He just let Savage take every guard they came across. Soon they reached the throne room. Savage blasted the door open and walked in choking one of the guards. Vizsla stood up. Savage let the guard go with a thud. Maul walked forward,

"I challenge you. One warrior to another!" he beated his chest as he said this. Vizsla looked around,

"Let him have his weapon!"

His female lieutenant threw Maul his lightsaber. Maul grabbed it and growled loving the sound of his saber ignite. He flashed an eye at Arcas who was pretending to be stunned at Maul and Savage's appearance.

The battle took only a matter of minutes but it soon became clear that Maul was going to be the victor. Arcas watched in amazement at his ability to detect movements seconds before they would happen. She cleared her throat and looked at Savage, he had a smile played across his face. Arcas settled back and watched as Maul defeated Vizsla. 'Good riddance' she thought, she'd had enough of his cocky attitude. Maul raced Vizsla's dark saber and ran it through his head.

"I claim this sword as ruler of Mandalore!" Maul shouted as he sliced Vizsla's head off. A few of his warriors looked at Vizsla's rolling head and then at Maul. A few of them stepped forward and kneeled down showing their allegiance to Maul. The lieutenant stepped forward,

"No outsider will rule Mandalore!" she exclaimed. She and a few others pulled their helmets on. Maul looked on,

"If you will not join me you shall die. Kill them!"

His new guards pulled their blasters out and started shooting them. He let them play chase with their former comrades and looked to Arcas and Savage. He smiled and turned to Almec,

"Go make yourself comfortable."

He turned back to his Zabrak circle,

"Arcas tomorrow you begin your training under me. Tonight Savage will give you a lesson and then we will feast on our new glory!"

Arcas bowed and left. She motioned for Savage to follow her. Savage growled.

As they walked she tried to assess Savage. She hadn't spent a lot of time with him, but she was glad for the chance.

"So… what's the deal between you and Maul?" she asked.

"We are brothers." He said simply.

"Who's older?" Arcas pushed.

"I am. But I did not know of his existence until a year or so ago." Savage growled.

"How's that even possible?!" Arcas wondered.

Savage said nothing.

"So how did you two reunite?" Arcas pressed.

Savage swung his arm around and attempted to test Arcas speed. She barely missed due to her relaxed state.

"If I've learned one thing, always be on your guard for an attack!" Savage said, "I found Maul through searching for him. I had the help of a witch who had known of his existence for years."

Arcas grabbed her saber, ready for Savage's next attack.

"I had heard as a child he was killed. That was over a decade ago. How did he survive?" she said.

"Through the power of the darkside you can surpass death even!" Savage said. He lunged at Arcas with incredible speed despite his size. She wasn't fast enough to dodge his attack. He pummeled her to the ground. Arcas was winded for a moment, Savage took advantage of her state. He grabbed her arm and flung her against a wall. He came running at her full speed again. Arcas pushed aside the pain and jumped up. She moved side to side as he swung his enormous fists, smashing the stone where her head had been moments ago. She jumped straight up in the air using the Force. As she came down she pushed off Savage's shoulders with her foot and ran. She called her saber to her hand and ignited it. She turned to face Savage. He straightened up from his hunched pose and grabbed his lightsaber. He lit both ends of it and waited for her attack. Luckily Arcas was patient and waited for him to start the attack so she could assess his path of direction.

She only had to wait moments because soon he lunged at her again and swung his saber at her feet. She jumped over the saber like jumping in a game of jump-rope. She laughed and swung around, her hair barely missing his blade. She brought her saber around, heading for his midsection. Savage brought his hands up and hit his hilt on her chin. Arcas stumbled back and Savage took the chance to grab her in a Force choke hold. Arcas dropped her saber and it fell to the ground with a clang. She held her throat as she struggled to breathe. Savage held her there enjoying her struggled. As he felt her Force start to fade he dropped her. He turned and left without a single word. He had to report his observations back to Maul.

"No need to leave a lady beaten to the ground brother." Maul called up from a balcony. Savage looked up. Maul leapt off, did a spinning jump and landed to the ground. Savage grunted, acknowledging his presence.

"She has skill." He said.

Maul rubbed his chin,

"She has POTENTIAL. She does indeed have skill, moreso than I expected. But she needs trimming up. My dear," he turned to Arcas who was just getting back to her feet, "you require a good workout to fully understand what Savage and I are capable of. You underestimated him, but you see that is his greatest strength. People underestimate him because of his tactical plans, but he waits until they get overconfident and then sloppy. Once they get sloppy he sees loopholes and grabs them. You got overconfident much too quickly. The Jedi may have taught you your skills were good enough, but they are good enough for battle combat. Not good enough to take down a Sith."

Arcas remained silent.

Maul remained calm,

"You will learn. Tomorrow we will begin your training. Now let's get you set up in the palace."

Maul turned and Arcas followed him. Savage stayed where he was, contemplating what Maul had said about him.

Arcas stayed silent, thinking until Maul grabbed her face,

"Did you not hear what I said?"

"No."

"I said what would you like your room to have?" Maul growled.

Arcas looked at her hands,

"A balcony."

"Is that it?" Maul asked, somewhat confused.

"Yes."

He turned and asked a droid where the rooms with balconies were.

"Those would be the Q wing sir." The droid beeped out. They turned and headed in that direction.

Maul opened a door and gestured for her walk into the room. She walked in and looked around, gasping. It was gorgeous. To the left of the room was a bed draped in satin violet and royal red sheets. With fluffy black pillows to match. To her left was a armoire empty for her to put her belongings in. She walked farther in to the refresher and found the counters to be shiny black with a silver shower and clear door. She had fallen inlove with it. She walked back out of the refresher and to the right of the bed was the balcony. She opened the doors and felt the sunshine stream in. She sat down in it's light and soaked in the rays. She heard a noise and saw Maul leaning against the doorframe watching her. His face was expressionless.

"I had forgotten you were there…" she said shyly.

"Clearly." He walked in and stood behind her.

"Why the love for the sun?" he asked.

She sighed,

"Back when I was a child, before the Temple. When I was still on Iridonia, although it was warm from the winds and volcanoes, we had occasional sunny days and I use to just bask in it's natural nurturing warmth. Once I got to the Temple, although we had sun… it was never direct and I never had a chance to bask in it due to the Temple being so closed off."

Maul stopped looking down at her and up at the sun,

"Hmm… I didn't have things like that. The happiest thing I had was a hawk I nurtured back to health as child. My master saw my fondness to it as a weakness and killed it in front of me, teaching me that attachment is a weakness. But you don't see me now holding out to find another one."

Arcas felt her temper rising. She stood up,

"And there's the difference between us. I know what it's like to be a real person and have emotions. I'm not just a robotic organism programmed to kill."

She was standing dangerously close to Maul. She stared him straight in the eyes, piercing his gaze. Maul was awed by the woman's defiance to him, but he liked it. It was something different and amused him.

"You know I could kill you this instance and no one would mourn your death…" he taunted, trying to get a reaction from her. She still stared at him,

"Do it. I'm dead inside already."

He laughed.

"I like you. You've got a fire in you to prove everyone wrong."

He turned to leave,

"See you in the dining hall."

Arcas paced back and forth in her room. She was just stormed with emotion.

"What an inconsiderate asshole of a being. Taking one thing I hold as a child and turning it into a pitiful thing that means I'm weak…" she muttered. She stopped and mentally slapped herself,

"What am I saying?! I'm dealing with a Sith lord. They're dead inside and care about saving their own asses."

She sighed and twirled her hair. She shrugged off her skirt and pulled her boots off. She walked into the refresher and turned the shower on. She hadn't had a decent cleaning in a few days.

"Well and I'll smell better for dinner…" she looked at herself in the mirror and tried to see the Jedi she had been… was…

"I don't know what I see anymore…" she whispered. Her tattoo pulsed. She ran her finger over it. It gave her appearance a dark feel to it.  
"Maybe that's why the Jedi didn't want me anymore…" she raked her nails over it, trying to rip it off, even though she knew it wouldn't work. She gave up after drawing a few drops of blood. She finished undressing and leaned on the wall of the shower as the water ran down her body.


	6. Chapter 6

Arcas stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. She heard a knock on her door.

"One moment!" she called.

She threw a towel over her body and rushed to the door. It slid open. She was surprised to see Savage standing there. She leaned against the frame of the door,

"Hello."

Savage looked at her,

"We expect you in the dining hall in about half an hour."

Arcas waved her hand,

"Cool. See you then."

And just like that the door slide shut.

She sighed, 'Everywhere I turn one of them is there' she thought, 'Maybe they're keeping tabs on me in case they think I'm going to run.'

She laughed and walked to her closet. Even though she didn't have a lot she found a robe someone had put in there for her. She put it on and fell inlove with the feeling of it on her skin.

She walked back to the refresher and toweled her hair out. She looked in the mirror. 'Guess this is just as best as I'm gonna look.' She thought. She sighed and pulled her boots back on. She slipped her saber into her boot and walked down the hallway. She felt oddly alone. It was off for her to have a whole section of a building to herself. But it was nice…

She focused on sensing where life forces were coming from. 'Easy' she thought as she detected them pulsing. She hurried along, eager to see who would show up for dinner. When she entered the room she was disappointed to see it was her, Savage, and of course Maul.

"God damn it…" she muttered, she was irritated but excited at the same time. 'Excited?' she thought. She shoved that feeling deep down inside her. She looked at Maul and shot him a look. She took a seat as far away from him as she could. Maul took this as a invitation and sat near here. Arcas rolled her eyes,

"The whole point of sitting as far as I could from you is because I don't like you."

She got up to move when Maul grabbed her arm,

"Sit. You're going to be a spending a lot of time training with me as it is, so you might as well get use to being in my presence."

Arcas looked at him and narrowed her eyes,

"Isn't that enough?"

She jerked her arm out of grasp and sat next to Savage, just to spite him. She looked at him with a devilish look. Maul just straightened his shoulders. He sat up and raised a glass,

"Tonight we celebrate the fall of a ruthless foolish tyrant! But we are also celebrating my rise to power! And our plans to rejoin the Sith will begin! Tonight we celebrate the arrival of new comrades!"

Maul smiled and took a drink. Arcas saw Savage mimic him. She grabbed her glass, but instead of taking a simple drink, she downed the wine and raised her glass for a refreshment. Maul opened his mouth to say something, Arcas held up a hand,

"If I have to dine with you, I'm going to need something to take the edge off. Trust me."

Maul closed his mouth and flicked a hand, signaling for the meal to be brought in.

Arcas leaned back, somewhat drowsy from her eventful day.

The meal consisted of very fat succulent fish, tender shaak meat, exotic cheeses, juicy fruit, and of course excellent wine. Arcas selected fish, a slice of cheese, and a few of the fruits. She already was on her 2nd glass of wine and she wasn't going to let it go farther than that. Maul and Savage both had large slices of the shaak meat and cheese. The only difference was Maul also had a fruit.

Arcas sliced into her fish and took a bit. The brothers ate as well in silence. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Arcas swished her glass around, watching the contents swirl. Maul cocked an eye to her, watching her. He stood up,

"Today has been eventful. Let us all return to our quarters and have a quiet evening."

Arcas sighed happily. She slide out of her chair and got up. She walked out of the room and back to her quarters.

Maul sank back down into his chair. Savage looked at him,

"What is it brother?"

"I do not get her. She was so eager to join us earlier and now she does not even want to be in our presence. You cannot join someone and expect to not be around them." Maul said, folding his hands.

"Perhaps she is having 2nd thoughts on her decision." Savage said.

"Perhaps. We will see in the morning." Maul said.

The next morning Arcas was peacefully asleep in her room when light was streamed on her face. She pulled the blankets over and groaned. She knew who it was, she was just hoping he'd go away. The blankets were ripped back, revealing Arcas scrunched up. She opened her eyes.

"What?" she asked, expecting Maul.

"Maul expects you in the courtyard in half an hour." Savage said irritatively. Arcas rolled out of bed as Savage left. She rubbed her face and walked into the refresher. She turned the tap on, letting the water warm up. She grabbed a clothe and wiped her face with it, swishing water and mouthwash. She looked in the mirror to assess her appearance. She was satisfied with it. She walked out and slipped into her clothing, fishing her saber out of her boot. She clenched her fingers around it, feeling her confidence flow through it.

She strode over to her balcony and saw Maul meditating in the middle of the courtyard. She jumped off the balcony and landed lightly behind him.

"Good morning." He said.

"Morning to yourself." She said curtly.

He twisted his body to look at her,

"You are agitated. I'm assuming you know how to reach a meditative stage without my supervision. Come, sit."

He motioned for her to sit next to him. She figured it wasn't a bad idea to calm her nerves. She sat next to him, but not as close as he had suggested. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. As she relaxed she noticed Maul was synchronizing himself to her. She closed her mind so he wouldn't be able to pry into her thoughts.

"Don't close your mind off to me!" Maul said roughly. He grabbed her face and looked her straight in the eyes, his on fire. Arcas cocked a smile, enjoying his anger. Maul used the Force and slammed Arcas into a wall.

"Do not anger me!" he shouted, as Arcas grunted a bit at the force.

"Yes master." She said sarcastically. Maul threw her into a tree, hard. Arcas yelped at the impact, holding her arm where a branch had struck it. Blood welled at a few scratches on her arm. She staggered a bit.

"So weak." Maul taunted, pulling her into a Force choke.

Arcas struggled to breathe and when she felt a chance she used the force to push him, breaking his concentration. Once Maul had let her go she whipped her lightsaber out and took a stance. Maul wiped his mouth and pulled his saber out as well.

"Good there's still a fight in you!" he taunted. Arcas growled, reveiling to her Zabrak roots. She lunged for Maul first, crossing her blade with his. Despite him beating her against the wall and a tree she held her weight against him better than she expected. She jumped flipped over him quickly and swung her blade around, aiming towards Maul. He turned around quick enough to cover her blow, but not before she gave him a small nick on his arm. Maul hissed, strengthening his assault on her. He threw strikes at her left and right. She quickly countered them as quickly as she could, looking for an opening. She saw a small one and took it. Just as Maul was about to switch sides, Arcas threw a Force push at Maul, slamming him into a wall. He jumped up, but not before Arcas was close to him. He threw a kick at her and hit her midsection. She flew to the ground and was stunned for a moment. Maul held the blade to her head.

"You're smart and cunning. But not quick enough to outdo me." Maul said, still holding the blade. Arcas felt it singeing her hair. She reached for her saber, ready to surprise him the best she could. He stomped a foot on her hand,

"You just don't give up do you?"

Arcas hissed, squirming her hand under his boot, trying to free her hand. Maul smiled, he was enjoying watching her mind work. It was like watching a half educated Padawan, always trying to find new ways to escape.

He released her hand and withdrew his blade. Arcas grabber her saber and faced him, determination clear in her face. He stared her down, observing her labored breathing, pulsing bruised hand, and her scratches that had dried blood on them. He barely raised his hand, when Arcas already had her lightsaber ignited, ready to go.

"Tense are we?" Maul asked. Arcas stayed silent, holding her saber, eyeing him. Maul flicked his eyes, Arcas saw this and wondered what he was doing. Then she heard the heavy thud and turned to see Savage about to swipe her head off. She jumped back, waiting for his attack. Savage ran at her. She jumped over him, but before she could push off his back, he grabbed her leg and slammed her to the ground. Arcas was stunned for a moment, but saw him about to bring his lightsaber down on her. She slide out from between his legs and called her saber to her hand. She turned to face him and saw Maul running at her. She rolled her eyes quickly. She struck her blade at his and pushed as hard as she could against him, surprising him and forcing him to take a step back. Risking her advantage she swung her hand and punched him the arm. He was surprised by her sudden punch, but didn't relent. He backed off enough for Savage to swoop him. Arcas roared. She was tired of tag between the two brothers. She swung her leg hard and high enough to hit Savage in the head. She took the advantage to punch him hard in the stomach, causing him to bend from the impact and she kneed him in the chest. He fell to the ground with a thud. She raised her hand quickly and used the force to throw Savage against a wall, causing it to crack, which effectively ended him for the time being.

Arcas walked towards Maul, pulling her skirt off, revealing her slender legs.

"I'm sorry was there a lesson to today? Because all I've faced is one Zabrak that keeps backing from a fight and sending his brother in who is nothing more than an impulsive animal." Arcas said angrily. She was getting tired of switching between strategies between the two. She readied herself for Maul's attack and was confused when she saw him standing, defenseless. She lowered her guard slightly, but didn't lower her saber. Maul looked at her,

"Did you notice a difference when you channeled your anger? Did you feel the power of the dark side entrance you and power your tactical decisisons? That's what I can bring you!"

Arcas remained silent, trying not to believe there was darkness within her. She had been a Jedi…was… darkness was forbidden.

"I'm not dark. Just pissed off." She said irritated.

Maul stayed like a stone,

"Sure you are. Enough training today. Let us work on meditating and returning to a calm state."

Arcas flicked a look to Savage.

"Do not worry about him. He has been through worse. He was at one point gunned down by an entire flagship of droids." Maul said simply.

Arcas shrugged her shoulders, she was proud to have taken down a seven foot tall monster. She sat underneath a tree, putting herself in a comfortable position. Maul looked at her unusually.

"You wanted me relax? Being under a willow is relaxing. Now buzz off." She said rudely. Maul shrugged and sat in the middle of the courtyard.

Hours passed and Maul heard a noise. He turned and saw Savage slowly coming too, rubbing his head. Suddenly he remembered and ran over to Arcas. He grabbed her by the throat and held her with both hands. Her eyes jerked open and she kicked out, making contact with his midsection. He didn't notice.

"What will you do now woman without your saber to save you?!" he yelled.

"I didn't need my saber then and I don't need it now!" Arcas choked out. She grabbed one of his horns and focused on sending anguish and pain through him. Savage dropped her and held his head, shouting. Maul rushed over,

"What did you do?!"

Arcas rolled a shoulder,

"I don't know."

She walked away, not feeling a single bit of remorse for either of them. She walked up a stairway into the palace.

As soon as she was gone Savage looked up,

"It's gone…"

"What brother?" Maul asked, curious for clues as to what she had done.

"The pain and suffering. It was like being stabbed over all over and dying a thousand times." Savage explained.

"It must be how hard she kicked you early and whatever anguish she sent through you. Her first day and she's already darker. Excellent." Maul praised. He patted his brother affectionately,

"Good job on bringing her anger out."

Savage shook his head slightly,

"Next time that's your job."

Arcas walked out of the palace doors. She had felt cooped up inside it. She walked the streets of Mandalore. She looked all over and watched the civilians walking normally throughout the city. She was rethinking her decision to be with the brothers. She was feeling new emotions that were foreign to her. She was shaken by how she felt during her fight with Savage and Maul. She didn't know how she should feel. She wandered throughout the city, intending to lose herself and to maybe find what her decision on what to do with herself.

Night time had fallen. Maul noticed that the Jedi had not returned to the palace.  
"Damn it!" he yelled.

Savage came up to his side,

"What is it?"

"The woman has not returned!" Maul growled.

"And what of it?" Savage asked.

Maul slammed Savage into the wall,

"She is our infiltration spy! She could be our key into the Jedi Temple and into luring Kenobi here!"

Savage stared at him,

"I understand."

He turned to find some Death Watch warriors.

"Death Watch! My brother Maul commands you to storm the city and search for the Jedi woman we captured. She has escaped."

A warrior near Savage stepped forward,

"Why doesn't his Lord command us himself?"

Savage pulled his saber and ignited it, the blade went through the warrior's middle.

"That is why." He said with a smirk.

The other warriors stared at the fallen one and marched into the city looking for the long haired Zabrak woman.

Arcas looked at the glowing trees of Mandalore and the simple men. 'You are all such simpletons…' she thought negatively, 'But how lucky you are to not have to worry about all the choices of gifted individuals… but I wouldn't take back the choice to accept my abilities as a Jedi.' Arcas walked along the street thinking to herself. She heard the hooded voice of a Death Watch warrior. She looked in the direction it had come from and saw the helmet. She backed into an alley and looked around. She was trapped with only a wall behind her. 'I can only go up' she thought. Arcas scaled the wall up onto a rooftop. She met with a Death Watch warrior. Arcas stared at him,

"Uh oh."

She turned and ran jumping across the gaps between buildings. She could hear the warrior following. She thought quickly about how she was going to lose him.

"The Jedi's in the 7th sector. I'm keeping up with her, but I'm going to need backup!" the warrior reported back. Suddenly the current rooftop was surrounded with Death Watch. Arcas pulled her lightsaber out and growled, holding herself in a defensive stance. A shot was fired and Arcas jumped out of it's way. She was surrounded with blazer shots. She constantly moved and deflected bullets, desperately trying to think up a plan to defeat this whole squadron of them. She looked around as they fired at her and noticed none of they were barely moving as they fired at her, thinking they had the upper hand.

Arcas jumped up and bounced off them, using her lightsaber to render their jetpacks useless. She was about to come to the final warrior when he used a line to wrap around her leg and plummet her to the ground. She dropped and quickly rolled over, facing the remaining warrior, hoping to get revenge on him. She planted her hand on the ground and felt a weight on it. She saw it was the boot of Mandalorian armor.

"Shit."

Back at the palace Arcas was thrown onto her knees in front of Darth Maul. He stared at her. Arcas stood up and stared at him with her hands bound in energy bonds,

"Awe did you miss me?" she sneered.

Maul continued to stare uninterested in her comment. He leaned forward in his throne.

"Do you understand the complications you could have caused? Not to mention the ones you DID cause me!" Maul asked in all seriousness.

Arcas studied her bonds,

"Not really. Nor do I care as much."

Maul gripped her in a death hold with the force,

"You are one of my pawns in a little game with Kenobi. Do not think you're innocence to life has any effect on me. You are to follow my orders when I command so! Are we understood?"

Arcas held her throat,

"Under….stood!"

Maul let her go and she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. She stared at him and felt her hatred brewing. She turned and left to leave for her quarters.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Maul inquired.

Arcas gripped her hands together and the bonds fell to the ground. Using the force she flung them at Maul,

"No."

Maul held his hand and the debris did not hit him, but he did not retaliate against her. He watched her leave and turned his comlink on,

"I think I shall like a guard outside the Jedi's room and below her balcony at all times. Keep your weapons on high stun to keep her from leaving."

When the dinner hour came Arcas noticed no one summoned for her presence. 'Good riddance' she thought. Only minutes later though she heard a knocking at her door. She opened it and found a waiter droid carrying a plate of hot food,

"Under orders from Lord Maul you are to have dinner alone tonight in the comforts of your quarters." The droid computed out. Arcas said nothing and took the food. She ate in silence and wondered what she was going to do about his punishment towards her tomorrow.

"He'll probably work me as hard as he can tomorrow in a brutal manner…" she said quietly to herself.

She decided not to worry about it. If she died tomorrow by his blade at least she could end her suffering since she could not run from it. Arcas took a quick hot shower and went to bed, wondering what tomorrow would bring for her.He was going to keep


End file.
